As soon as Halloween is over, immediately I turn on Christmas music. Especially this year, I feel like the holiday spirit is more needed than ever. But since this year we’re all a little down with month 6 of the quarantine blues, all my favorite holiday activities aren’t as they usually are. My favorite ice skating rink is closed, the famous Riverside festivals of lights is pretty limited, and the virtual nutcracker just isn’t the same. So this Christmas when I want to have a cute holiday date, I’ve come up with a list of fun activities that won’t be hampered by the pandemic- whether you do them virtually with your friends or with your quarantine boo.
- Gingerbread House Competition
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There is nothing more fun than a little friendly competition with a holiday twist. Gingerbread house decorating makes me feel like I’m fulfilling every interior design fantasy on a very small, and way easier, scale. Every year my best friends and I have a huge gingerbread house decorating competition with houses of various themes and ideas. Fortunately for us, that competition does not have to end just because we can’t all get together. Safeway has the cutest and easiest gingerbread house kid and Pinterest is full of cute ideas for them. Hop on a Zoom call with your besties and have the ultimate decorate-off (bonus points if you all have a theme to follow).
- Drive-In Christmas Movie
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I have always loved going to the movies. Nothing is more fun than sitting in a big theatre with your boo and watching a new movie with them. Fortunately, even though we can’t be inside a theatre, the drive-ins are a safe and super fun alternative. From the comfort of your own car (hellooooo heater!), you can eat all your favorite Christmas candies and catch one of your favorites on the big screen at your local drive-in theatre. Nothing will put you in a Christmas mood more than Home Alone or ELF. And if you can’t make it to the drive-ins, nothing is more fun than a Christmas movie marathon from the comfort of your own home. You’ll definitely catch me trying to work through this list of Christmas movies.
- Drive Through Christmas Lights
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If you can’t walk through a winter wonderland, there is nothing wrong with driving through one. Unfortunately with Candy Cane Lane in LA closed, or the Mission Inn festival taking a new form, if you love long drives through Christmas neighborhoods- decorated houses shouldn’t be hard to find. A quick google search will show you all the best lights in your neighborhood around Christmas time and driving around is always a fun date.
- Christmas Cookie Decorating
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I’m no chef, but sugar cookies are one of my favorite recipes to make and decorate. Straight out of a hallmark holiday rom-com, baking sugar cookies can be one of the cutest and easiest dates. But if you turn all baked items to a crisp (like me), store-bought cookies and some frosting/sprinkles is always a good idea. And a great way to spread Christmas cheer during this lonely time would be to deliver them to nearby friends and family members.
- Write Letters to Santa
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Whoever said Santa wasn’t real is a total buzzkill. Sometimes as we get older we can forget the childlike joy of the Christmas season, which for me, was always addressing an envelope to the north pole. But what if instead of writing to ‘Santa’ about all the things we want for Christmas, a fun thing to do can be writing to Santa about all the things we’re grateful for this holiday season. Practicing gratitude during the holiday season can be a fun and rewarding experience, especially if you share it with someone you care about. But if you really can’t get behind the idea of writing to Santa, a cute alternative can be a Christmas Time Capsule in an ornament to remember for years to come.
All in all, Christmas is about spreading and receiving joy. Doing little things to make you and the people around you happy is always a good plan, and these ideas are a great place to start.